Au revoir as hard-up Brits begin exodus from France

A retreat from the French idyll is under way as a plunging pound sends Britons dashing back across the Channel

When Mandy O'Sullivan and her husband Richard bought a stone farmhouse near the town of Eymet in the Dordogne five years ago, they thought it was for good.

They sold their house in Kent and spent heavily on restoring their new home.

However, like thousands of Brits abroad, the O'Sullivans' expatriate dream has been ruined by sterling's collapse against the euro in recent weeks and they have joined a burgeoning exodus to the UK.

"When we started out here, the euro was 1.50 to the pound, now it's down to 1.07. When you're on a pension, it's frightening," said Mandy O'Sullivan. "It's a wrench to leave. The countryside is beautiful here, you get so much space for your money."

Even before the precipitous fall of sterling against the euro this month, the 130,000 Britons who have settled in France in recent years were finding it difficult to maintain their standard